With the increase of miniaturization of portable electronic products like heart-rate monitors, sophisticated pedometers, glucose monitors, insulin pumps, electroencephalographs integrated with smart-phones, etc. People are increasingly carrying sophisticated instrumentation on or about their persons. Couple this with the increase of people with respiratory problems, and the growing proliferation of medicines, filtration equipment, masks, etc., there is a compelling case for creating a product that would alert the user to conditions that might aggravate respiration or bring-on asthma or other such attacks.
Referring now to FIG. 1, shown are recent figures from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) regarding the current state of asthma (a widespread respirator condition).
The number of people with asthma continues to grow. One in 12 people (about 25 million, or 8% of the population) had asthma in 2009, compared with 1 in 14 (about 20 million, or 7%) in 2001.
More than half (53%) of people with asthma had an asthma attack in 2008. More children (57%) than adults (51%) had an attack. 185 children and 3,262 adults died from asthma in 2007.
About 1 in 10 children (10%) had asthma and 1 in 12 adults (8%) had asthma in 2009. Women were more likely than men and boys more likely than girls to have asthma.
About 1 in 9 (11%) non-Hispanic blacks of all ages and about 1 in 6 (17%) of non-Hispanic black children had asthma in 2009, the highest rate among racial/ethnic groups.
The greatest rise in asthma rates was among black children (almost a 50% increase) from 2001 through 2009.
Therefore what is needed is a system and method that allows an individual to monitor particles that affect an individual.